“…Transnational 'mega-events' themselves date back to the nineteenth-century World's Fairs, which in turn constitute a revival of the ancient tradition of Olympic Games. Addressed to a multinational audience, such events have played a key role in the emergent construction of a 'world society' (Meyer, 2010) or 'world polity' (Dumoulin Kervran, 2021, p. 81) through logistical and communicational efforts aimed at constructing 'greatness' (Dumoulin Kervran, 2015). Roche identifies them as core elements of modernity, in which transnational elites celebrate 'civilisation' and 'progress' while simultaneously relying heavily on ritualised elements, dramaturgy and spectacle before a global public (Roche, 2000, p. 89; see also Merry, 2006, pp.…”